Brescia's Sandro Tonali Not Scared by €300M Price Tag Amid Transfer Rumours

Brescia midfielder Sandro Tonali said he is not intimidated by the €300 million (£256 million) price tag placed on him by owner Massimo Cellino. 

Amid rumours linking the 19-year-old with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United and Inter Milan, Cellino said any prospective suitors will have to meet that outlandish figure to sign him.

Tonali told Rai Sport (h/t Goal's Sacha Pisani):

"I love president Cellino very much, and he rates me highly. He's a great person, and I hope to travel down a good road with him.

"After the match against Fiorentina, he said he wouldn't even sell me for €300 million, but that doesn't scare me, even if it really is a lot of money.

"I'm confident about what we'll do this season. For now I'm not thinking about the market, I just want to help Brescia stay up."

The youngster caught the eye last season, despite playing with Brescia in Serie B.

Although he only made his senior Italy debut in October this year, he earned his first call-up in November last year while playing in the second tier.

A technically gifted deep-lying playmaker, Tonali is already drawing comparisons with former Italy, Juventus and AC Milan great Andrea Pirlo:

Pirlo had a talent for free-kicks, and Tonali evidently shares that skill:

Tonali has accepted the inevitable comparisons, though he also feels he shares qualities with one of Pirlo's former Azzurri and Milan team-mates:

The teenager looks to dictate games from deep and create opportunities for his team-mates, but he's also more robust and aggressive in his play than Pirlo was, and he's not short of pace, either.

Football statistician Dave O'Brien shared his numbers from Brescia's 2-1 defeat to Napoli in September, in which he had a superb strike disallowed following VAR review:

If Tonali continues to impress, it may only be a matter of time before he's signed by a more illustrious side. He'll likely be available for much less than €300 million in reality, but it will nevertheless require a significant sum to prise him away.

In the meantime, it seems he'll be concentrating on his football, which can only help his development.